creative jewish mom

DIY Loose-Leaf Watercolor Art Journal With Lettering, For Counting The Omer

I'm sharing this a bit on the late side to actually be inspired this year, that is to use my idea and make a loose-leaf watercolor counting the Omer art journal, but you could certainly make the journal anytime and save it for next year, or use it as a gift or for some other purpose. We are so blessed to have a new bride in the family, as one of my sons got engaged, and I was just thinking that an art journal like this one would be a great "count down to the wedding" gift, maybe for the last two months or so......So friends, check out my idea, and keep it in mind, whether for counting the Omer, or counting down to a big day, or even as a gift to a loved one to use as a journal.

And my biggest piece of advice? Keep it simple! The only reason that I actually have succeeded with this project is that I only allowed myself to use watercolors, and collage with watercolor painted elements, and then pens and paint pens for the lettering, that is it! Ah yes, and one more thing, the success of this project is also partially due to all the amazing instruction and inspiration that I soaked up from Wendy Solganik aka @willa.wanders via her huge hand lettering for art journaling course, called Love Your (Imperfect) Letters, which has just been so very perfect for this art journal. Of course I do need to go back and learn some more styles, but this journal was a great start and really the first time ever that I've been so lettering focused and so happy with the results! Want to see how I made this journal? Keep on reading!

Watercolor Art For Loose-Bound Art Journal Pages

Hello watercolors! It has been quite a while since I've touched any paint, so I decided to wade back in with baby steps by starting with watercolors, (mostly those in a tube) and then using those watercolors to make a new loose leaf art journal which I'll be using to count the Omer, the 49 day period between the second night of Passover and the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Because I'm creating pages on which I'll add lettering I needed a variety of styles and backgrounds, some for lots of lettering and some for just a sentence. As I write this I've fortunately finished compiling the journal and am even caught up with adding the number for the day, which today is 18! So I'll be sharing spreads with you soon, but for now here are examples of some of the pages I've created. And friends, watercolor is truly a great way to get creative with virtually no mess, though I hope to be getting back to the mess soon! If you want to learn about my floral watercolor cutouts, which I created from all the practice painting, and have now used them as collage for the journal pages, check that out here.

Simple Two-stroke Painted Butterfly Is Perfect Right Now!

After posting about the origami butterflies I've started making for this year's Purim decorations, I realized that indeed, some painted butterflies, maybe with 4 wings this year, must fly into the picture as well, so as my stack of origami butterflies in all sizes is growing, I've pulled this out of the archives to remind myself and to give you a little something to paint! Enjoy! Here is what I wrote last year:

I am officially obsessed with these adorable 2 stroke painted butterflies because they are so simple to paint and the results are just so wonderful! And so my friends butterflies and pyramids are going to the the theme of this year's Passover crafts, lets do it! This butterfly technique can be used in so many ways, though of course I'd recommend practicing a bit before going to town, to get your technique down so that it will be consistent and quick! And of course, you'll want to experiment a bit to see which paint brush works the best for this, and I just realized how fabulous these butterflies would be really large, like painted with a house painting brush! (Need a spring school play backdrop, or a party backdrop, think butterflies!) Okay, time is of the essence, lets get to it!

DIY Counting The Omer Art Journal

With all the preparations for Passover, it is generally quite difficult to think about counting the Omer art projects ahead of time, but this year I actually succeeded in making a DIY art journal for daily creating according to the Omer, ahead of time! I'll admit, it was really quite a fluke, and happened 3 weeks before Passover, when there was still room for creative activities. And let me tell you, I couldn't be more pleased with the results, and the fact that, just as soon as Passover ends I have the energy after Passover ends, I'll be ready to go! Hoping the energy returns soon, as we are already on Day 10 of 49, so time is of the essence! What will I be creating on these pages? Well it is true that there are already many accidental abstract landscapes waiting to be realized, so that may be the direction, but I will decide when the time comes, which means hopefully tomorrow? Lets take a closer look, shall we?

Simple 2 Stroke Painted Butterfly

I am officially obsessed with these adorable 2 stroke painted butterflies because they are so simple to paint and the results are just so wonderful! And so my friends butterflies and pyramids are going to the the theme of this year's Passover crafts, lets do it! This butterfly technique can be used in so many ways, though of course I'd recommend practicing a bit before going to town, to get your technique down so that it will be consistent and quick! And of course, you'll want to experiment a bit to see which paint brush works the best for this, and I just realized how fabulous these butterflies would be really large, like painted with a house painting brush! (Need a spring school play backdrop, or a party backdrop, think butterflies!) Okay, time is of the essence, lets get to it!

Counting The Omer Art Journal

I am reposting this from last year, as truly now is a great time to start thinking about a counting the Omer Art Journal! Namely set yourself up ahead of time, so that once Passover is over, you can dive in, make up for the first week (I don't create art during the Passover holiday) and have a really meaningful counting the Omer period. I still have a few spreads to complete from the journal here, but really thinking about doing something small and manageable this year, like index card sized! Stay tuned for that, I do want to make the journal and prepare it, that is if I can find the time! And here is what I wrote last year:

Last year, during the week of Passover,when we do not do art, I had the idea of making an art journal for counting the omer. Once Passover ended I quickly prepared pages, 49 plus, one for each day of the Omer, and then began making art on each of the pages. This turned out to be too large a project for that time period, so this year I'm going to finish that journal, and hopefully start another, as I just can't resist! There is just something about counting the Omer with daily creating that is so perfect! So do give the idea of marrying an art practice with spirituality for this special time period leading up to Shavuos!

There are so many ways to make your own journal, though you could also opt to buy a sketchbook and commit to an entry for each of the remaining 41/42 days once Passover has ended. Simply splashing some color on watercolor paper sheets and making those into a journal is simple and wonderful, and you could make them tiny or large enough for collage or sketching. While adding a sticker to a piece of wall art to count the days is wonderful, and great for children, I think that those of use who love art should make an effort to harness the energy of this period to bring more art into the world, even if it is just for you!

So friends, lets do this! And for day to day updates of what I'll be up to, next week and until Shavuot, please follow me on instagram!

Experimenting With Hi-End Water Soluble Wax Pastels

Looking for a Chanukah gift for an artsy someone? The Caran D'Ache wax pastels might just be a great gift, namely the set of 40 that comes in a gorgeous red tin. Do note however, these are amazing for working in journals and sketchbooks, but they must be sealed with fixative or they will bleed onto the opposite page. The best practice is to slip a piece of parchment or deli paper between the pages and then apply fixative at a later date. So maybe gift a can or bottle of fixative with the gift, just make sure it is fixative that works with oil based things, other wise it may just bead up on top of the work. Also, they work really well for mark making on the final layer of an acrylic painting, as the colors are very pigmented and offer great coverage.

How did all of this come about? As you may remember, this past Spring/summer I challenged myself to do 100 oil pastel landscapes, and I did it. It was great, but the oil pastels were truly such a mess and there ended up being little bits of oil pastel everywhere, even on the challahs at one point! So, while I do hope to delve into oil pastels again, I was looking for something a bit similar, but without the mess, and decided to try the Caran D'Ache Neocolor II line of waxy, water soluble, pastels. What can I say, it is a bit of a steep learning curve, but I keep seeing illustrators creating amazing things with them, and I am enjoying both the water soluble nature and the virtual no mess factor, so I'm not giving up any time soon! Ah yes, and they are literally the most perfect thing to travel with, together with a water brush and a few pencils, and some baby wipes, with which one can literally wipe off mistakes and turn a page gone wrong into the background for something new! Okay, lets take a look at some of the things I've created lately, though for the best look head on over to my instagram account @sara.rivka.dahan!

Sketchbook Drawings From Colored Pencils After The Trip!

While I did take this sketchbook with me my on our recent trip to the USA, I was right in thinking that I would not likely get much sketching or painting done! In fact I ran down to the beach on the last day just to do one quick watercolor so that carrying the sketchbook around would not have been pointless! If you want to include creativity beyond photography on any trip it does mean having that time to yourself, being very quick with that sketching and making it a priority, which may or may not be important to you, depending on your everyday practice? Not to worry, there is a time for everything, so when I started to go through all the photos I'd taken I decided to do some quick sketches of some of the San Francisco landmarks using a palette of blue colored pencils. Something not at all par for the course, but I enjoyed this little exercise, and now at least I've filled two spreads which relate to our trip. Hmmm, now I think I need to sketch some Victorian houses, or maybe even do some house collages? Ah yes, but the newly purchases paint is calling, so the creative adventure continues!

DIY Botanical Doodle Cake Toppers For Birthdays And Anniversaries!

Last summer I spent many hours creating in my sketchbooks, including many hours of drawing botanicals, which then resulted in using those botanicals in many ways. For starters I did create a floral monogram which you can see here, and I also used my botanical sketches to create a frame in my sketchbook, here. After that, my daughter's birthday came along, and I created an 18 in the same style as the numbers you see here. I loved the results so much, that I then created one for each of my teen sons for their birthdays, in September 2020 and June 2021, which is what I've photographed here. While these botanical doodle cake toppers look complicated, they really are quite simple, and if you have time, you can create other items in this same style, like cupcake toppers, napkin rings, gift toppers, you name it! Okay, lets take a closer look!

DIY Cake Toppers From Flower Sketches

Last summer I spent quite a few days honing my flower sketching skills by looking at free tutorials from a wide variety of sources, check out my previous posts here, and then I added watercolor to them here, just for starters! You can check out all the posts that show what I've been up to in my sketchbooks here. So, when my daughter's birthday came around, it was only natural to make some sketched peonie paper cake toppers that I ended up using in some fun birthday centerpieces (more on that later.....) I drew these from a tutorial that I saw on Pinterest, and it is truly addictive, because the flowers end up looking so well, perfect? Not that perfect is ever the goal, but with cut out sketched flowers for a cake topper or even to add to a plant or bouquet, that somewhat perfect look just plain works! And best of all, this is also a recycling craft, so keep on reading for the simple supplies, and why not spend a lazy summer day sketching some flowers to use who knows when? I am keeping my collection of these kinds of crafts in a box, to pull out when needed for birthdays, anniversaries, you name it!